Monday Morning Memo: Be Hated...Be Happy? Part III

Once again, we are looking at the final beatitude which says, “God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.  God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers.  Be happy about it!  Be very glad!  For a great reward awaits you in heaven.  And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted in the same way” (Matt. 5:10-12).  I think to totally understand this beatitude, we need to realize what these verses on persecution do not say.

These verses do not say, “Blessed are they who are persecuted because they’re obnoxious.”  OR “Blessed are they who are persecuted because they were arrogant and abusive in their attempts to witness.”  OR “Blessed are they who are persecuted because they had a ‘holier-than-thou’ attitude.”  We need to realize that we can bring endless suffering upon ourselves and can create difficulties because we act foolishly or self-righteously.

Peter makes it very clear in his writings that it is possible to suffer for the wrong reasons.  He says in I Peter 4:15, “If you suffer, however, it must not be for murder, stealing, making trouble, or prying into other people’s affairs.”  Jesus tells us in Matthew 10:16 how we are to conduct ourselves in the world, “Look, I am sending you out as sheep among wolves.  So be as shrewd as snakes and harmless as doves.”  So, if we feel we are being persecuted, we need to first make sure that it isn’t our fault and a result of something we have done wrong.

As Americans we find it hard to be happy if we have a bad day, let alone if we should ever face persecution.  The Apostle Paul gave us such a wonderful example of how we should react when we are persecuted for being a truly devoted follower of Jesus.  In Acts 16, we read about when he was in the city of Philippi and was overtaken by a mob, arrested, beaten, locked in chains and put into prison.  This is not my idea of a good day.  Most of us would have been inclined to just want to try to get some sleep and hope things looked better in the morning.  Yet, at about midnight, Paul and his companion, Silas, were not sleeping and they weren’t up singing the blues, comparing cuts and bruises or telling sob stories.  Instead, these two sore, uncomfortable and weary men were singing praises to God and praying!  Years later, Paul would write to the church in Philippi from another prison in Rome, “Always be full of joy in the Lord.  I say it again – rejoice!”(Phil 4:4).  What an amazing example for us to follow!

So how should we respond to persecution?  I think there are four things to remember:

1.      Sometimes we simply need to leave.  Remember what happened in Acts 13:49-52 to Paul and Barnabas?  “So the Lord’s message spread throughout that region.  Then the Jews stirred up the influential religious women and the leaders of the city, and they incited a mob against Paul and Barnabas and ran them out of town.  So they shookthe dust from their feet as a sign of rejection and went to the town of Iconium.  And the believers were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.”  We are not promised a blessing if we go looking for trouble and none of us need to develop a martyr complex.  Just like Snagglepuss, we need to sometimes say, “Exit, stage right!” and then we need to make our exit and leave.

2.     We need to guard against compromise.  One way to end persecution is to become like those who oppose you.  We need to remember we are called to please and obey God and not men.  Peter and John were ordered to stop preaching and teaching in the name of Jesus, but their response in Acts 4:19b was, “Do you think God wants us to obey you rather than him?”  They knew Who they were supposed to obey.

3.     We need to love our enemies.  It’s easy to think of ways to get even when someone has hurt us or those we love.  We can be quick to begin to scheme our retaliation against those who have wronged us.  Unfortunately, revenge is bittersweet.   We may feel better for a moment, but before long we will get more of what we’ve dished out; like the saying goes, “What goes around, comes around.”  God wants us to love our enemies and break the cycle of revenge.  Instead of lashing out with anger we are called by God to love those who mistreat us.

4.     We should pray for those who persecute us.  The bottom line is simple; hurting people hurt other people.  The person who injures you is often the victim of personal pain which may be buried and forgotten.  They attack others in the same way they have been hurt.  Likewise, many of those who may be the source of persecution are not believers; they are people who need Christ.

Jesus challenged the thinking of His day and His teaching is still radically different from what many people believe today.  I need to ask myself if I am ready to respond in these ways if I am persecuted.  Are you?

Until next week…  

Monday Morning Memo: Be Hated...Be Happy? Part II

Last week we began looking at the final beatitude which says, “God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.  God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers.  Be happy about it!  Be very glad!  For a great reward awaits you in heaven.  And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted in the same way” (Matt. 5:10-12).  Now…seven days later…I still find these words to be rather overwhelming and I haven’t been able to get past thinking about what our lives should look like if we are truly following Jesus.

As Christians, we should be living differently than those who are not Christians and, as a result, we may experience some kind of persecution.  The values, priorities, goals and desires we have should produce a different lifestyle.  We should look different, act and react differently and it should be obvious to those around us Whom we serve.

Living out the beatitudes in our daily life means we can’t sit on the fence between Christian faith and the values of this world.  All the beatitudes we have studied are our building blocks to be like Jesus.  When we live our life consistent with the attitudes, characteristics, qualities and values of Jesus our life will be different.  It can’t help but be.

Do you ever wonder why we as Christians in America haven’t, to this point, faced the same kind of persecution as believers in other parts of the world?  Scenes have been shown in our media of horrendous persecutions of believers in other countries, yet we have seemed to get by without such atrocities.  While I am so thankful we haven’t seen this level of violence yet (unfortunately, I believe it is coming), it does make me wonder if we, as Christians, have lost our uniqueness.  Have we become so saturated with the things of this world to the point that no one can tell who are followers of Jesus and who aren’t?  Obviously, if we are no longer living a righteous life, very little persecution will take place. 

I think too often we focus on God’s blessings and forget the price we must be willing to pay to be completely sold out to Him.  God wants us to consider the cost and the dividends, and He wants us to come to Him with our eyes wide open.

If you remember, Jesus didn’t hide anything from us.  He told us like it is, “If you are going to be my disciple, then expect persecution.”  He told us in this life we can expect:

·      Persecution instead of praise

·      Cruel insults instead of cordial invitations

·      Harassment instead of honor

·      Abuse instead of applause

·      Slander instead of support

·      Death instead of dignity 

Jesus wants us to be prepared for the difficulties that will come as a result of following Him.  “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me.  Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows.  But take heart, because I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).

Am I willing to live my life in such a way that I might be truly persecuted for following my Jesus?  Will I let nothing stop me from following Him?  Will you?

Until next week…  

Monday Morning Memo: Be Hated...Be Happy?

We have arrived at our last beatitude and this may be the hardest one to understand.  The truth of it is just so foreign in our world today because it says, “God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.  God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers.  Be happy about it!  Be very glad!  For a great reward awaits you in heaven.  And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted in the same way” (Matt. 5:10-12).  Wow.  I have to admit that when I first read this I thought, You have to be kidding!  I mean, I’m to be glad, even happy, when I’m treated badly?  That’s insane!So, I began searching the Bible to see if there were other verses which would backup what it says in this last beatitude.  I figured if there weren’t any others, maybe this particular one was a misprint 

Luke 6:22-23 – “What blessings await you when people hate you and exclude you and mock you and curse you as evil because you follow the Son of Man.  When that happens, be happy! Yes, leap for joy!  For a great reward awaits you in heaven.  And remember, their ancestors treated the ancient prophets that same way.”

James 1:2 – “Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.”

I Peter 4:12-16 – “Dear friends, don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you.  Instead, be very glad – for these trials make you partners with Christ in his suffering, so that you will have the wonderful joy of seeing his glory when it is revealed to all the world.

So be happy when you are insulted for being a Christian, for then the glorious Spirit of God rests upon you.  If you suffer, however, it must not be for murder, stealing, making trouble, or prying into other people’s affairs.  But it is no shame to suffer for being a Christian.  Praise God for the privilege of being called by his name!” 

If you want to read any more verses on this uplifting subject…check out James 1:12, Revelation 2:10, 2 Cor 4:8-12, 17, Acts 5:41 and Romans 5:3.  Believe it or not…there are even more.  It didn’t take long to realize that this last beatitude wasn’t a misprint; it was the truth, and we are supposed to live it out on a daily basis.

Christians who experienced the persecution which came upon the first-century church thought it anything but a blessing.  Yet Jesus did not lie when He called the persecuted a blessed people.

He wasn’t speaking about someone who is looked down on because they wear a cross necklace around their neck.  Nor was He speaking of someone who is picked on because they happen to listen to Christian music.  Jesus was hitting on the core of what it means to be a devoted, follower of Christ; those who are sold out completely to living a life for Him no matter the cost. 

Unfortunately, believers who allow the filth of the world to filter into their lives eventually become a weak testimony of Jesus Christ.  If our values and behavior run too closely alongside those who are selfish and immoral, we probably won’t be persecuted because there won’t be a reason to be.  We aren’t making a strong enough stand against the values, or lack of values of the world to merit being silenced.  Satan has no need to harass those who have strayed from the Word of God; they have already been considered by him to be ineffective followers of Christ and so they aren’t a spiritual threat.

Those who choose to take a stand against the world and its evils are guaranteed to experience opposition, hatred, abandonment and rejection.  But Jesus promised that while His followers may appear to lose everything in this life, they gain an incredible reward in the next one.

Devoted followers of Christ today who are not afraid to speak the truth of God’s Word may not be martyred for their faith, but they certainly will not be considered a guest of honor at a secular social gathering either.  To be rejected by the world means to be accepted by Christ and honored by the Father just as Christ was honored for His obedience.

Before we continue looking at this last beatitude, I think it would be a good idea if we spent some time evaluating what our personal walk with Christ looks like.  Do we look any different than the world?  Do we experience any of Satan’s attacks because he fears our testimony will make a positive influence on eternity?  Or do we resemble the world so much with our choices and values that he knows he doesn’t have to worry about our effectiveness?  The bottom line is…if Satan never harasses us…maybe we need to figure out why he doesn’t see the need.

I often think about the saying, “Be the kind of woman who, when your feet hit the floor in the morning, the devil says, ‘OH NO, SHE’S UP!’”.  I have a long way to go to be this kind of woman, but I think all of us, men and women, need to have this as our goal and make it our prayer in the coming days.

Until next week…

Monday Morning Memo: What is a Peacemaker? Part II

I will begin with an apology.  This is a long post.  I’ve cut and cut…but I just couldn’t get peace about cutting anymore.  So please bear with me…

Last week we began our look into the beatitude in Matthew 5:9 which tells us, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.”  We realized that first of all, peacemakers are at peace with God.  Today we will look into the fact that:

Peacemakers are at peace with others.  2 Corinthians 13:11 says,  “Dear brothers and sisters, I close my letter with these last words: Be joyful. Grow to maturity. Encourage each other. Live in harmony and peace. Then the God of love and peace will be with you.”  Romans 12:18 tells us to “Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.”

But then Matthew 5:43-45, which many of us are familiar with, makes it a little harder.  It says, “You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy.  But I say, love your enemies!  Pray for those who persecute you!  In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven.  For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike.”

I think it is sometimes difficult to pray for our enemies without falling into the trap of just spending our time asking God to change them instead of us.  I don’t think that is what He desires for us to do.  Instead, I think we could follow Christ’s directions when He tells us to “Pray like this” (see Matthew 6:9-10).  We can pray that we and our enemy will revere God’s name.  We can pray that God’s kingdom and His return will be foremost in our mind and in theirs.  We should pray that we and our enemy would do His will the way the angels do it in heaven.   If we remember that the basis of peace is purity, we should pray for our enemies and for ourselves that our hearts and lives will be pure…so there will be peace.

Then in Matthew 5:47 Jesus gives us a warning: "If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else?  Even pagans do that.”  In other words, if there is a rupture in one of your relationships, or if there is someone who opposes you, don't nurse that grudge. Don't feed the animosity by ignoring and avoiding that person. The natural thing to do is to just cross the street so you don't have to greet them. But that is not what the actions should be of a peacemaking, devoted follower of God.  Peacemaking tries to build bridges to people. It does not want animosity to remain. It wants reconciliation. It wants harmony. 

OK.  Let’s put this into a scenario and bring it closer to home.  Let’s say that someone has hurt you.   They have said things about you behind your back that aren’t true.  Why, they have even said things that aren’t true right to your face!   They have been malicious, hurtful, and downright nasty to you.  You may have even gone to them and tried to work it out, but they aren’t playing the game.  They want nothing to do with reconciliation.  And what really fries your fanny is that they profess to be a Christian!  They go to church every Sunday morning just like you do, but yet they act this way. 

Now, let’s imagine you are shopping in a store and you come around a corner, look down the aisle and you guessed it, there’s that person who has done these things to you.  Would you duck back into another aisle to make sure you don’t run into this person?  Our humanness would say yes, but we need to remember what we just read in Matthew.  We are no better than pagans if we are only kind to our friends and not our enemies. 

Now, don’t get me wrong.  I really don’t think this is telling us that when we see a person such as this in a store, we should run up to them and give them hugs and kisses.  Why?  Because if nothing else, I think it would make the person very uncomfortable to say the least.  But it is telling us that the least we can do is look them in the eye, greet them and do it not with a phony display of caring, but with a longing for peace and reconciliation. 

There is something I think we need to realize.  We should not equate peacemaking with peace-achieving.  If we are truly living as a peacemaker, we are to long for peace, work for peace (which may include a simple greeting in a store) and at times even make sacrifices for peace...but the attainment of peace may not come.  

It is also important to make sure we aren’t the one who is spreading lies and being malicious and nasty to someone else.  Peace will never be found if we spend our time making someone else’s life miserable because of our actions.

It comes down to the fact that our goal should be to make peace: “If possible, so far as it depends on you….”  In other words, don’t let the rupture in the relationship be your fault.  We are to do whatever we can to reconcile the relationship, but we cannot make the other person have peace with us.  It may never happen. 

Finally, we need to realize that:

Peacemakers are at peace with themselves.  Psalm 122:8 says, “For the sake of my family and friends, I will say,
“May you have peace.”  Proverbs 3:1-2 reads, “My son, do not forget my teaching,
but keep my commands in your heart for they will prolong your life many years
and bring you peace and prosperity.” We read in Colossians 3:15, “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.”

If you have peace with God and peace with others, so far as it depends on you, then you should have peace with yourself.  Where we won’t have peace with ourselves is when we either have unconfessed sin OR we are still nursing a grudge against someone who has wronged us.  If we aren’t feeling peace in us, we may need to look at these other 2 areas of our life.

A few basics things we need to remember:

1. The source of peace is God – that’s why it’s a matter of faith – we must trust and obey Him in order to receive and give peace.  Peace demands that we turn to God and to His ways.

2. The enemy of peace is Satan and sin – wherever there is discord, or conflict you can know that Satan is having his way.  It is always easier to create conflict than to strive for peace.

3. Christians should reflect peace in their lives both as a quality they have within themselves and as a blessing they share with others.

Blessed are the peacemakers…will you and I display God’s peace this week in everything we do?  I sure hope so, because that is what He expects from His children.

Until next week…

Monday Morning Memo: What is a Peacemaker?

This week we find our beatitude in Matthew 5:9 which tells us, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.”  The version The Message says, “You’re blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight.  That’s when you discover who you really are, and your place in God’s family.”

As I began studying this beatitude, it didn’t take long to realize that maybe what I was finding wasn’t going to be as easy to swallow as I thought it would be. If I’m honest, I think this has probably been one of the beatitudes which I sort of skimmed over.  Why?  Because I thought I had this one down.  I know I need some growth with the previous beatitudes, but not this one.  I’ve always thought of myself as a peaceful person.  I don’t like fights or upheaval.  So, I figured I could pass over this one.

But of course, I had to dig a little deeper to be able to write about it today, because maybe YOU needed to learn about being a peacemaker.  I should know by now that whenever I think that way…it won’t be long until my own toes are feeling rather bruised.  So, we will spend more than one week on this convicting beatitude.

So…what is a peacemaker?  Peacemakers are those whose life demonstrates peace.  This is just common sense, but I think we need to look at with whom we are supposed to be at peace.  First of all, I think we need to realize that:

1. Peacemakers are at peace with God.  We read in Romans 5:1, “Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord had done for us.”  Then, James 4:1-4 tells us, “What is causing the quarrels and fights among you?  Don’t they come from the evil desires at war within you?  You wantwhat you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it.  You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them.  Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it.  And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong – you want only what will give you pleasure.

You adulterers!  Don’t you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God?  I say it again:  If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God.”

Well now…James didn’t mince any words here, did he?  I’m guessing he didn’t receive the “Most Popular” award from those listening; but he knew he had to preach the truth, even if it made him unpopular.  It saddens me that some Christians today, even some in our pulpits, want to sugarcoat the gospel so that everyone feels good and doesn’t get their feelings hurt.  As followers of Christ, we are called to speak His Word in truth, even if it doesn’t make us well-liked.

It is obvious from James’ words that if we have anything in our life that isn’t pleasing to God, that sin makes us His enemy.  As a result, for us to have peace with God, we need to make sure we don’t have unconfessed sin in our life.  Thank goodness, since Jesus died on the cross for our transgressions, we can have our sins forgiven and as a result we can have peace with God.  A peacemaker is someone who has ended all conflict with Him and has accepted His Word as absolute truth.  You can’t make peace unless you are first at peace with God.

Friends, the truth is that you and I won’t have peace…our cities won’t have peace…our state won’t have peace…our country and world won’t have peace…until we have peace with our God.  Peace begins with me.  Peace begins with you.  But for us to have peace, we need to make sure we are not holding onto those things which come between us and our God.  Greed, lust, impure thoughts, adultery, gossip, evil desires, idolatry, hatred toward others, envy and the list goes on.  Anything that we are holding onto that puts a wedge between us and our God…will ensure that we won’t have peace.

I think before we continue with this beatitude, it might be a good idea for us to do some self-inventory this week.  Is there anything in your life and in my life that isn’t pleasing to God?  Are we more concerned about what everyone else thinks of us, instead of making sure we are at peace with Him?  Are we willing to stand up for God’s Word, speaking the truth, even when some may turn against us?

I know this hasn’t been a “feel-good” post, but I know there may be those, including myself, who need some toe-stepping.  I’m willing to take the chance…will you join me?

Until next week…

Monday Morning Memo: A Heart Matter Part II

Last week we began looking at the beatitude in Matthew 5:8, which reads, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.”  The Message states it this way, “You’re blessed when you get your inside world – your mind and heart – put right.  Then you can see God in the outside world.”  We ended by asking ourselves if we really want God to see and know our heart.  He does, whether we like it or not, but what are we doing to make sure our heart is clean and fully devoted to Him?  Are we ready and willing to pray David’s prayer, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.  Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.”?  

So how can we maintain a pure heart as we go through our days?  By ourselves, it is impossible, but what is impossible for us is possible for God!  With Him living in us and His Spirit controlling us, we can have a heart which is pleasing to Him.

One of the most primary ways we can develop a pure heart is by spending time in the Word of God.  As the psalmist said, “How can a young man keep his way pure?  By living according to your word” (Psalm 119:9) and then in Psalm 119:11, “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.”   If we are struggling with having a pure heart, we need to check how much time we are spending in the Bible.

Another way to maintain a pure heart is through fellowship with our brothers and sisters in Christ, because it helps to be accountable to one another.  Solomon said in Ecclesiastes 4:9-10,”Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work:  If one falls down, hisfriend can help him up.  But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!”  The author of Hebrews tells us in 10:24, “Let us consider how we can spur one another on toward love and good deeds.”  If you aren’t spending time with other believers, I highly encourage you to make it a priority.

Thirdly, we can train our heart for pure living by serving our Jesus.  The more we serve Him, the more devoted we become, and the more we will want to make sure our heart is pleasing to Him.

The end of this beatitude, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God”, gives me chills!  When our time on this earth is over, those who have faithfully served Him as their Lord and Savior will see Him face to face for all of eternity.  I John 3:2 reads, “We know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is”.

What an amazing promise!  Spending eternity with our Jesus is what we should look forward to…beyond college degrees, beyond climbing the corporate ladder or even beyond a secured retirement.  Seeing Him face to face will make our focus of having a pure heart all worthwhile!  

Monday Morning Memo: A Heart Matter Part I

I want to take a moment and thank you so much for your encouragement to me following last week’s post.  I believe I had the most “shares” and “views” of any post I have made.  Your love, support and especially prayers are so appreciated, and God is hearing and answering!  I seem to be healing well and need much less pain medicine…so I can’t thank you enough for lifting me up to the Throne.  My cast is to come off on Wednesday and then we will enter the next phase of my recovery.  God is SO good and I am so thankful that He sees you and me and cares about every aspect of our journey!

 

Today’s beatitude is the most central and significant of all the beatitudes mentioned in the fifth chapter of Matthew. Because of this, we will look at it in two parts, one today and then we will conclude it next week.

 

Matthew 5:8 says: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.”  The Message states it this way:  "You're blessed when you get your inside world—your mind and heart—put right. Then you can see God in the outside world.”

This beatitude is so central to our behavior because we can’t be poor in spirit without having a pure heart. We can’t mourn for the things that displease God without having a pure heart. We can’t be meek, we can’t hunger and thirst for righteousness, we can’t be merciful, we can’t be a peacemaker or be prepared to withstand persecution for the name of Christ,,,without having a pure heart. Actually, this is one of the most central principles of the Christian life which we see in the entire Bible. The heart of the matter is the matter of the heart.

Unfortunately, we are usually more careful to keep everything clean which is seen by others and forget about the things which only God can see. If my hands are muddy, nobody wants to shake hands with me, so I better keep them clean. If I am wearing a dirty shirt, there is a good chance you would give more attention to my shirt and not hear what I am saying. We want to keep up appearances before others, but we forget about keeping pure before God.

That is why Jesus gave such a harsh rebuke to the scribes and Pharisees, who thought of themselves as the purest of all people. They were extremely careful to keep their outward appearance clean before men, but they didn’t worry about their relationship with God. Jesus told them: “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are filthy—full of greed and self-indulgence! You blind Pharisee! First wash the inside of the cup and the dish, and then the outside will become clean, too.

What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs—beautiful on the outside but filled on the inside with dead people’s bones and all sorts of impurity. Outwardly you look like righteous people, but inwardly your hearts are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness.  (Matthew 23:25-28) 

Explaining to the disciples, He said in Matthew 15:19-20: “For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, all sexual immorality, theft, lying, and slander. These are what defile you. Eating with unwashed hands will never defile you.”  

This is the impure heart.

1 Chronicles 28:9 says, “And Solomon, my son, learn to know the God of your ancestors intimately. Worship and serve him with your whole heart and a willing mind. For the Lord sees every heart and knows every plan and thought. If you seek him, you will find him. But if you forsake him, he will reject you forever.”

That is why David’s prayer in Psalm 139:23-24 was, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.  Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.” 

Do you know there are certain things we can do that God can’t? We can lie. We can commit adultery. We can cheat. We can steal. But God can’t break these moral laws, nor can He ignore them when we break them. We are usually fairly careful to observe the local laws set by our government because we have immediate consequences, but many times, we ignore the moral laws which have far more serious consequences. Having a pure heart means keeping God’s moral laws.

The interesting thing is that when we think of adultery, we think of it in the physical sense, having a sexual relation outside of marriage. The Bible does talk about this kind of adultery and certainly prohibits it. However, the Bible talks about spiritual adultery far more than physical adultery. There is a whole book written to deal with the issue of spiritual adultery in the people of God, the book of Hosea. There are many chapters in the Old Testament which deal with the spiritual adultery in the people of God.

In the New Testament, Jesus said you can’t worship God and money. So, when we devote our hearts to anything that is other than the cause of God, we commit spiritual adultery. As James said in James 4, verses 4 & 8:  4)“You adulterers! Don’t you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again: If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God.”  8) “Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world.”

Both the Old and New Testaments say, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind’. This is the first and the greatest commandment” (Matthew 22:37-38; also Deuteronomy 6:5).

This is a pure heart in the spiritual sense.

The question is, do we really want God to see and know our heart?  He does, whether we like it or not, but what are we doing to make sure our heart is clean and fully devoted to Him?  Are we ready and willing to pray David’s prayer, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.  Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.”?  If we aren’t, then maybe we should spend this next week asking God to give us the courage to pray this prayer, expecting God to do a heart-cleaning within us for His glory!

Until next week…